What's Important in Life
by Numb3rsfan
Summary: 13 years, 2 brothers, 1 bullet, 1 argument and 1 choice.
1. Kidnapped

**What's Important in Life**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Rating: PG-13

Warning(s): Angst, H/C, Language.

Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs.

Summary: 13 years, 2 brothers, 1 bullet, 1 argument and 1 choice.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

Chapter One: Kidnapped.

Eighteen year old Don Eppes yawned as he laid back on the couch, once again and turned his attention to the ongoing baseball game on tv.

The scores were tied, and the batter was just coming up to the plate.

'_Come on, come on, hit it, hit it!'_ Don thought, as he practically willed the batter to hit the ball.

However, just as the pitcher threw the ball, the front door banged open, allowing his younger brother's voice to filter in, quiet loudly, causing Don to jump and look over.

Hearing the crowds cheering on tv, Don looked over and saw the batter slowly jogging his way around the bases, a home run quite evident.

With a snarl on his face, Don rose up and went up the stairs, following Charlie to his bedroom.

When Charlie entered the room, Don stepped in and shoved his brother, sending Charlie sliding in to the far wall.

"Ow!" Fifteen year old Charlie replied as he picked himself up off the ground, rubbing his arm.

"What was that for?"

"What was that for?!" Don echoed, "You caused me to miss the most perfect home run of the season!"

"You didn't have to look up!" Charlie countered.

Almost then, he shut his mouth, seeing the steam escaping from his brother's ears.

Stomping over to his brother, Don raised his fist and brought it crashing down at the base of his brother's neck, causing Charlie to cry out in pain before he collapsed on to the floor.

"Charlie…Don, stop fighting!" Their mother's voice drifted up to them from the kitchen.

Hearing that, Don backed away and left, but not before saying, "Just try to stay out of my way today….you just try it!"

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

After two hours, Charlie slowly came down the stairs and entered the kitchen, but he didn't stop there; he went to the back door and opened it, before going outside, heading for the koi pond.

Arriving at the pond, Charlie sat down at the edge and watched the different fish swim around.

As he watched them, small tears came to his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

He could still feel the wallop that Don had given him, and all the harsh words that Don had spoken to him were now running through his mind, making him feel even worse.

Knowing that he couldn't swim all that well, Charlie contemplated throwing himself in to the pond and letting the water do the dirty work, but he nixed that idea as the one other time he had tried to commit suicide, came to his mind.

He had been five years old and had accidentally knocked over Don's favorite baseball lamp, completely shattering it.

After getting yelled at, and receiving his first slap across the face, Charlie had felt awful.

He had knelt down and grabbed the biggest shard of glass and plunged it in to his small chest without a single thought.

Luckly, his father and mother had entered the room moments later to clean up the mess.

But, that had saved his life, because immediately Margaret dropped the broom and dustpan and ran over to her youngest son, while Alan ran out to bring the car out of the garage.

Their speed in getting Charlie to the hospital, not to mention Charlie's age, was what saved his life that day.

Now, knowing that his mother was close by, probably watching him from the kitchen window, Charlie wasn't going to give her a reason to worry.

Sighing, Charlie wiped the tears from his face as he thought about what to do.

As he sat there, trying to block out Don's voice, the memories kept assaulting him.

'_You little bastard! Never use my stuff without permission!' _ That had earned Charlie a punch in the back.

'_It's my turn, you little bitch! Go up to your room!' _That had earned Charlie to be thrown to the floor, but it had also caused Don to be grounded as well.

'_I don't ever want to see you, and I don't ever want to know you! It would have been better if you had never been born!'_ Don had said that to him just the other day, and Charlie had been in his room the rest of that day, crying his eyes out.

"Hey Charlie!"

Turning his head, Charlie watched his father come outside.

"Do you want to go shopping with me? Just the two of us?" Alan asked.

Charlie thought about the offer, as different ideas filled his head, and before he knew it, he found himself nodding his head and rising up, following his father out to the car.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

"What do ya know…its raining." Alan Eppes remarked as he flicked on the windshield wipers.

Raising his dark hair, Charlie looked at the windshield and watched the wipers scrape the droplets off, as more droplets just took there place.

"You've been awfully quiet this whole trip, Charlie. What's on your mind?" Alan asked, looking at his son.

Shaking his head, Charlie said, "It's nothin' dad."

"Alright, just…I'll listen…if you want to talk." Alan replied.

Nodding his head, Charlie turned back and stared out the window.

It was true, his father was always there if Charlie wanted to talk, but most times he didn't, he just wanted to keep what he was feeling, bottled up inside.

That's what everybody did, right?

By the time Alan arrived at the hardware store to get the first round of shopping done, it was pouring down rain.

Quickly he and Charlie got out of the truck and jogged to the door, but almost immediately after exiting the truck, Charlie slowed down and looked around.

Seeing no approaching vehicles, Charlie sighed and followed his father in to the store.

Shaking the rain from his hair, Charlie followed his father throughout the store, listening to the squeaking shoes of all the customers as they passed them by.

"Ahhh…here we are." Alan said, turning down isle 11 and grabbing some floor cleaner.

"Floor cleaner? We're getting floor cleaner at a hardware store?" Charlie asked, seeing what was in his father's hands.

"Of course. This is the only store where you can find this, and the contractor said use only this on the kitchen floor." Alan replied as he grabbed four bottles and turned around.

"Anything else?" Charlie asked.

"No, not here. We need to stop at Williams and pick up some groceries, though." Alan replied as he walked towards the register.

When he was half way there though, all hell broke loose when four people in black ski masks entered and started shooting up the place.

They shot all of the checkers and the sackers, and they even shot the managers before spreading throughout the store, scaring the heck out of everyone and stealing the money from the customers.

When Charlie first heard the guns, he started shaking, and by the time he saw the gunmen, his knees were practically knocking together with fear.

"Hand over your money pops!" One of the perps said to Alan.

"Over my dead body!" Alan replied confidently as the stared the perp down.

"If you insist!" The perp replied as he pulled the trigger, sending a wave of bullets in to Alan's chest.

Crying out with pain, Alan collapsed to the floor as blood pooled out over his chest and on to the floor.

Leaning over, the perp grabbed Alan's wallet, opened it up and took out what Alan had before stuffing the money in his pocket, and tossing Alan's now empty wallet to the side.

By then, Charlie was practically hyperventilating as he stared down at his father's bloody body.

"Well, well, well…what have we here." The perp said as he looked Charlie over.

The three other perps came around the corner, their pockets filled with cash.

"Come on, we gotta go. The police will be here any minute." A female voice said.

"Just a minute Sandy, just a minute." The perp who had shot Alan, said.

"Jon, look…shoot the kid and lets go!" Sandy said.

"No wait. We can use the kid as leverage…think about it." Jon replied.

"He's got a point Sand." The other perp said.

"Michael!" Sandy said, before she paused and sighed, "Alright…bring him, but at the first sign of trouble, plug him with a few rounds."

Nodding their heads, Jon grabbed Charlie, placing one hand over the boy's mouth and using the other hand to drag him towards and out the back door.

Quickly he shoved Charlie in to the waiting black van before jumping in and slamming the door, as Sandy jumped in to the passenger's front seat.

Then the black van roared off.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

Charlie didn't know how long he had been in the van, but a quick glance of his watch told him that he had been traveling for four hours.

"Ha ha ha! That's it! We're out of California!"

Charlie turned his eyes and saw the blond haired, blued eyed Sandy smile as she high-fived the dark haired and dark eyed Michael.

The blond haired, blue eyed and tattoo covered Jon still held his pistol pointed at Charlie.

Swallowing fearfully, Charlie licked his lips before he whispered, "Wha…what are you going to do with me?"

His whisper was so low that Sandy turned her head and asked, "What did you say?"

Licking his lips again, Charlie repeated, "What are you going to do with me?"

"We're gonna keep you for now, boy. And let me make myself clear. You try to run, flag down a police officer or even look at us wrong, and Jon will put a bullet through your skull. You understand?" Sandy said.

Charlie nodded his head before he looked at the gun in Jon's hand.

"So, just behave yourself and you'll be alright kid. Now, just sit back and enjoy the ride." Sandy said, before she turned herself around and settled down in to her seat.


	2. Charlie's Choice

**What's Important in Life **

Chapter 2: Charlie's Choice

'_6 months…6 months since…the day.'_ Charlie thought as he looked at the Wishbone calendar that hung on the wall in the apartment.

He was still with Sandy, Jon and Michael, and they had treated him well, right from the start, which had really surprised Charlie.

Jon had even apologized for shooting Alan, and had claimed that he had sent money in to the trust fund that Margaret and Don had set up to help pay for Alan's medical bills.

Hearing the front door open, Charlie turned and went back to the small table where a chalk board and several pieces of paper lay.

Sitting down on the chair, in front of the table, Charlie got back to work, trying to break the code which would let them access a certain bank's main frame.

"How's it coming, sweety?" Sandy said as she set a bag down and approached the now sixteen year old.

"Good, good." Charlie said, offering a small smile, "I've almost got it cracked. I just need a few more hours."

Smiling, Sandy pulled up a chair and sat down just beside Charlie.

"You've been with us for some time now Charlie, and now its time to make a decision. We…well, Jon, Mike and I…we want you to join our gang and go on raids with us." Sandy said.

Charlie knew that the 'raids' were the times that they robbed stores, just like they had done with the hardware store 6 months ago.

Remembering the threat that Sandy had said to him the day that his world had changed, Charlie looked at Sandy and nodded his head.

Seeing Sandy smile, Charlie watched as she went over to the bag and took out one black sweater, a black jean, black shoes, black ski mask, a silver pistol like Jon's, and a Uzi with four loaded clips.

Rising, Charlie went over to the goodies and picked them up.

"Wow!" He muttered softly.

"They're all yours Charlie." Sandy said, brushing her hand lightly through his hair.

"Why don't you go try em' on?" Michael suggested, from the kitchen.

Nodding his head, Charlie carried all of the items to his room and shut the door.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

'_6 months…how could it be 6 months?'_ Don wondered as he ran his fingers over the small chalkboard that had belonged to his brother.

A few tears ran down Don's face as his mind flooded with all of the hurtful things that he had said and done to his brother.

When the hospital had called and had told them that Alan had been shot, they had been devastated, but even more so when the police had told them that Charlie was gone and no one had seen him.

It had been Alan that had told them that Charlie had been kidnapped by people in black ski masks, and ever since then, the Eppes and the police had not stopped in their search for the youngest Eppes brother.

Now, however, the police had finally called off the search. That decision had crushed Margaret, causing her to slip in to a depression.

Alan was still weak, because of what had happened.

The doctors had stated that Alan would never be strong again…like he once was, so he was no help.

No…it was up to Don to keep the family together…but how could he do that? How could he do that when he was the reason the family was torn apart in the first place?

"Charlie…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry." Don whispered as he looked out the window at the raindrops that were falling to the ground outside.


	3. A Mirror Image

**What's Important in Life**

Chapter 3: A Mirror Image

"Ok. So are we good on the plan?" Sandy asked, as she eyed everyone in the room.

Jon nodded his head as he put his pistol away. Michael nodded his head as well as he made sure his knife was securely tucked away in his boot.

Sandy turned to Charlie as he mulled over everything that Sandy had said.

"So, lemme see if I got this. We hit Sutherland's Hardware and reek havoc, then you want me to tap in to the bank's main frame and dump over half of their funds in to an off shore account…" Charlie said, looking at Sandy and seeing her nod her head.

"Then we head off for Mexico to live out the rest of our lives. We certainly wouldn't need anymore money." Sandy said.

"Ok...but you said I could go to college this year." Charlie said, reminding her.

Sighing, Sandy looked at Charlie and said, "I didn't say that…didn't I? Well…you know we've been tight on funds, and college costs a lot. Tell you what….dump a bit extra in to the account, and we'll send you to the finest college that exists. How's that sound?"

To Michael and Jon who had been listening, it was rather strange that someone as young as Charlie could even be talking about a thing as college, but he was a genius, they knew that almost right off the bat, when he correctly calculated higher math problems which had left them in the dust.

And they knew that Charlie had graduated already, because they had hacked his school mainframe and had found his school records.

"Well…I suppose that'll be ok." Charlie said uncertainly as he stood up from the chair.

Rising with him, Sandy said, "Now Charlie…what did I tell you about uncertainty?"

"It can get you killed. In the one moment that you hesitate, you could wind up with bullets in your skull. That's why we can't afford any level of uncertainty." Charlie mumbled.

Nodding her head, Sandy watched Charlie grab his pistol and Uzi and follow Michael and Jon to the van.

Shaking her head, Sandy followed them.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

As the van moved closer and closer to the hardware store, Charlie peeked out of the black tinted window and looked up towards the sky.

There were rain clouds evident in the sky, of this Charlie was quite sure.

"Alright guys, get ready." Michael said as he pulled the van to a stop, at the back of the store.

"Now Charlie, you have five minutes in there, then I want you back in the van, hacking the system. Got it?" Michael asked.

"Got it." Charlie replied as he held his gun at the ready, waiting for Jon to crack open the door.

"Ok…3…2…1…go, go, go!" Sandy said, nodding to Jon, who opened the door and jumped out, followed closely by Charlie, Sandy and Michael.

Entering the building was easy since it was a small little place. _'Much like the other hardware store that is so far away.' _Charlie thought as he fired his gun at the ceiling, while Sandy, Jon and Michael headed for the cash registers.

Turning down the main isle, Charlie saw a father and a little boy cowering behind a display of this new and improved stuff.

"Give me all the cash you have…NOW!" Charlie shouted to the man, trying to sound tough.

Even though he was trembling with fright, the man shook his head as he wrapped an arm around his son.

"No…never. You'll have to kill me first!" The man said.

Remembering what Sandy said about hesitation and uncertainty, Charlie aimed and pulled the trigger.

He watched sadly as the father grunted, slumping against the metal shelving as blood pooled around his unmoving form.

The little boy that was beside him was torn between looking at Charlie in horror and looking at his father.

Charlie, for his part, tried to ignore the boy's stare as he grabbed the man's wallet and quickly took out the cash before tossing the wallet to the side.

After he had pocketed the cash, Charlie knew that he had a problem. He had a witness, and that was unacceptable.

"Sorry kid." Charlie said softly before he took out his shiny pistol and pointed it directly at the boy.

The boy started sobbing as he curled up against his father, hiding his face in his father's shoulder.

Swallowing sadly, Charlie aimed and fired his gun, and abruptly, the crying ceased as the boy's now bloody hand flopped down lifelessly on to the ground.

Looking at his watch, Charlie marveled to see that his time was almost up.

Quickly pocketing his pistol, Charlie ran back down the isle and out the back door, jumping in to the van and sliding to a stop at the small computer that he and his 'friends' had set up.

Logging in and accessing the internet took no more than four seconds, and before anyone knew it, Charlie was implementing the code in to the pre chosen bank's main-frame.

"Come on, come on, come on…" Charlie muttered, watching the little bar slowly go from 1 percent to 50 percent.

Charlie glanced out of the tinted windows for a second, looking for his friends.

When he didn't see them, he glanced back at the screen, relieved to see that he was in to the bank's main-frame.

Quickly Charlie set the transaction up; entering the amount of cash that he wanted.

No sooner than he had hit the enter button, that the van door opened and Jon jumped in, slamming the door shut, while Sandy got in to the passenger seat and Michael got in to the driver's seat.

Within four seconds the van was fired up and they were punching it, away from the crime scene.

Looking back at Charlie, Sandy took off her mask and said, "Well?"

With a smile on his face, Charlie replied, "Done. 90 million dollars has been transferred to the accounts."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…90 million?" Sandy asked.

"When I hacked in to the bank, I was able to gain access to other banks as well, so I just took some money from all of them." Charlie said with a grin.

Smiling, Sandy high-fived Charlie before she settled back in to her seat, while Charlie settled back against the side of the van, reviewing his actions just a little while ago.

Now that he had time to think about it, what had happened was almost a mirror image of what had happened to him.

There at a hardware store was a little boy and his father, both scared to death. The father was threatened, then shot and then robbed, leaving the little boy sobbing.

But that was where it ended.

Instead of sparing the little boy's life, Charlie had ended it.

Much like Sandy had wanted to do to him not long ago, but Michael and Jon had stopped her.

Seeing the look on Charlie's face, Jon reached over and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"What's a matter, Charlie?" He asked.

"I…I killed him." Charlie muttered.

Hearing this, Sandy turned back to look at the boy.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"The boy in the store; I shot him and his father." Charlie said.

Now they all knew why Charlie was upset. He had never shot, much less killed anyone before. And, doing something like that for the first time always left a toll on you.

"I know how you feel Charlie. But in time, it will go away." Sandy said softly.

"Will it? Will it really?" Charlie said, sounding slightly depressed.

"Trust me." Was all the reply that Sandy gave.

Slowly Charlie nodded his head as he sat up a little straighter.

He knew that they would be traveling for a few days, so it was a good idea to get as comfortable as he could.

"So Charlie…what college do you want to go to, and what do you want to major in?" Jon asked.

Almost immediately Charlie replied, "I want to major in math. And, the college I want to go to…is CalSci."

"Well…that's a good college." Jon said, with a slight nod of his head.

Charlie smiled at that as he said, "I want to go there at the beginning of semester, in June."

Seeing as it was only October, they had a while, which was good.

"Well guys, best get some sleep. We're gonna be on the road for a good long while yet." Michael said.

A chorus of "Alrights," and "Sure's." filled the van as Sandy, Jon and Charlie laid down and closed their eyes, to dream of the new lives that they would have.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

A/N: Sorry, didn't mention this earlier, but this is a 'bit' of an AU story, which is why Charlie and Don are only 3 years apart. Anyway, let me know how I am doing, by just clicking that review button!


	4. Admitting the Truth

**What's Important in Life**

A/N: Ok, let me explain what's going on here. This is an AU, and if you want to think about it this way, an OOC story, based before and during the first episode of season one. Charlie has never shot or killed anyone before; this is true, BUT after being with his captors for 6 months, he's finally seeing their point of view, and he's picking up their tactics, so they are training him to be a killer.

I'm sorry if I am going to fast for some people, but I just type down what my mind thinks up.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

Chapter 4: Admitting the truth.

13 years later…

Charlie ran a hand over the gleaming surface of the go-cart, or as he calls it, the extreme gravity vehicle. He had ridden in it a few times and had crashed it only once, but he still couldn't get it to go as fast as he had wanted.

Now, however, with a few tweaks, he was ready to try again.

Making sure his helmet was on good and tight, he got the extreme gravity vehicle moving and smiled as it rolled down the big hill, picking up speed at an enormous rate.

Down at the bottom of the hill, one of Charlie's former teachers, and now a close friend, Dr. Larry Fleinhardt, saw this silver object come rolling down the hill. Confused, he got out of his car and watched as the go-cart raced past the finish line and came to a halt.

"Twenty one point zero seven seconds, sixty eight point three miles per hour." Amita said happily as she came over to Charlie, watching him take the helmet off of his head, "No one would ever guess you don't have a driver's license."

Chuckling, Charlie waited for some of the students to take the top off and gave him a helping hand out of the go-cart. He said, "MIT and Stanford, can't touch that."

With an amused look on his face, Larry walked over to the duo.

"Professor Charles Edward Eppes."

"Larry!" Charlie greeted, taking the offered hand that reached out to help him from the go-cart.

"So this is what distracts you from helping me; your friend, your colleague, win the Nobel Prize for my eleven dimensional super gravity theory?" Larry asked, giving Charlie his classic confused look.

"Well, in a way this project is related to your theory!" Charlie replied.

"Wha…this go-cart?" Larry asked, motioning to the go-cart before them.

"Go-cart? This is..this isn't a go-cart! This is an extreme gravity vehicle. It's shape will help inform the next generation of high performance auto mobiles…" Charlie began, but Larry interrupted him by saying, "Alright. Hooray for making things go faster. But I fail to see how this will provide me with the necessary mathematical breakthroughs I need to redefine the fabric of the cosmos."

"You know, some people do their own math. Edwhiten, Richard Fineman…" Amita said.

"Hurtful. I actually knew Fineman. I actually think of him often. You know what; here's a discussion: why is it that we remember the past and not the future?" Larry replied.

"That's a tough one." Charlie said after a minute's pause, then he continued with, "Larry look, I'll have time on Monday, I'll run through some equations for you."

With a sigh, Larry nodded his head in agreement before he watched Charlie get back to work.

Charlie, for his part was having a great time at CalSci, finally having graduated a few years ago, and now he was a professor at the school!

His best friend Larry was still a great help to him; having become almost a sort of father/brother figure to Charlie.

To that day, Charlie didn't know how his family was fairing, not his real family, or the family that had taken him under their wing by force.

He missed his real family; he ached to see his father and mother again, and even his brother, but what if Don still felt the same as he had thirteen years ago?

'_I can't take that chance. And, besides, if they were to find out what I did…what I've become…what would they think of me?'_ Charlie wondered as he closed the notebook that was in his hands and started walking towards the entrance to the school.

As he walked, he began to think of the wild rollercoaster ride that had become his life.

Being separated from his family at 15, being trained as a hacker and a killer, taking two human lives at 16, and then going to college at 16 ½.

'_Don't forget. Working for the CDC, NSA and all the rest at 18, 19 and 20.'_ Charlie thought.

Now he was almost 30 years old, nearing the prime of his life when it came to math, yet, deep inside he was still the scared little boy, just waiting for everything to catch up to him.

Entering his office, Charlie set the notebook down and sat down in his chair.

Seeing a sticky note by his small office phone, Charlie snatched up the note and read what it had to say.

'_FBI unit leader called. He requests that I come in or call and offer my consulting expertise._'Charlie read.

Taking out his cell-phone, Charlie typed in the number that was given, before he pressed the green button.

Putting the cell-phone to his ear, Charlie waited as the tone sounded, before someone picked up.

"Eppes." Came the strong voice over the line.

That name made Charlie freeze and go numb as it rang over and over in his mind.

No…it couldn't be…could it?

"Hello? Who is this? Hello?" The voice said.

Swallowing, Charlie closed his eyes before opening them again and saying, "Hi, this is Professor Martin. You called my office earlier, about doing some consulting?"

"Yes. Normally I wouldn't have called anybody, least way's a math professor. No offense to you sir; but the people upstairs are breathing down my neck, and you were recommended." Don Eppes explained.

"I understand. I'll…I'll be over at your office as soon as I can." Charlie replied before he hung up at dropped the phone on to his desk.

Sighing, Charlie suppressed a shiver of fear as his gaze found his phone once more.

"What am I gonna do if Don recognizes me? Run, I guess." Charlie whispered.

He didn't want to face Don again, but he knew that he had to. And, if Don didn't recognize him, then so much the better.

Rising, Charlie gathered his things and exited his office.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

Gracefully Charlie walked down the corridor of the FBI offices.

Up ahead he saw a gated room filled with cubicles, and a bigger room that was called the bull pen.

Stopping by the officer that was standing by the door, Charlie showed the officer his pass and waited while the officer opened the door and held it open.

Stepping past the guard, Charlie looked around before he spotted a man with dark, short, semi-spiky hair talking with a woman and a bald black man.

'_That's gotta be him.'_ Charlie thought as he made his way over to them.

However he didn't have to get Don's attention because Don turned around and spotted Charlie.

"Professor Martin, thanks for coming in. I'm Don Eppes." Don said, shaking Charlie's hand.

"Yes I've heard of you D…Agent Eppes." Charlie said, almost blurting out Don's first name.

"We need you to do an analysis…" Don began, leading Charlie in to the bull-pen, quickly showing him the piles of data that were on the tables.

To anyone looking, a pile that size would take weeks to look through, but Charlie informed Don that he could give him some information in a few hours.

Nodding his head, Don left Charlie alone in the bull-pen.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

After a few hours, Charlie was generating his first hot zone, hoping that the rapist was in it. His calculations were correct, so if anything were to go wrong it wouldn't be because of him.

As Charlie waited for the first map to print up, he glanced out of the bull-pen, quickly seeing his brother talking with the black man again.

'_So…my brother's an FBI Special Agent…hard to believe.'_ Charlie thought to himself.

Sighing, Charlie lowered his head for a second. "Sooner or later he's going to find out. Should I tell him?...Oh geez, I don't think I can even tell him." Charlie mumbled.

"Tell who, what?"

Spinning, Charlie saw Don and the black man standing behind him.

"N..nothing!" Charlie sputtered.

Shrugging his shoulders, Don introduced David Sinclair, to Charlie.

David and Charlie shook hands and exchanged pleasantries for a second, before David turned and left the room.

"How's it coming?" Don asked, looking at the map that was printing.

"Good. Great, actually. I'm a….I'm generating a hot zone. And if the information you gave me is correct…the rapist should reside in the hot zone." Charlie replied.

"That's great!" Don said, sounding slightly enthused.

Before Don could get any further, Charlie sighed and banged his fist on the printer.

"Hey! Whoa, whoa. You do know that's government property." Don said, stepping to the side and eying the professor closely.

He was fully prepared for the professor to lash out, or say something rude, but what happened next startled Don.

He watched as Charlie's shoulder's started to shake, and small sobs start to escape from his lips.

"Oh for cryin' out loud." Don muttered, looking around and making sure no one was watching them.

"Come on." Don said, taking Charlie's elbow, attempting to help him to a chair, but Charlie resisted, mumbling, "You wouldn't be helping, much less trying to comfort me if you knew."

"If I knew what?" Don asked softly, still very much confused by the professor's attitude.

Sniffling a little, Charlie brushed some of the tears from his eyes before he muttered, "I'm your brother."

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

A/N: Sorry if I misspelled the names that Amita said.


	5. Charlie Tells All

**What's Important in Life**

Chapter 5: Charlie Tells All

"I'm your brother."

Those words made Don freeze and instantly release Charlie as the trained FBI agent backed up several steps and slowly gazed at Charlie's face.

Then it hit him. The look…the hair, all of it reminded Don of his brother.

"Charlie…?" Don whispered, finally approaching the man that stood no more than three steps away.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Charlie stood where he was as he watched Don walk over to him and stop right in front of him.

"Oh my God…Charlie!" Don exclaimed before he threw his arms around his brother and hugged him tightly, not wanting to let him go.

Tears came to Don's eyes as he did this, because he had convinced himself that he would never get to do this again.

For Charlie's part, tears came to his eyes as well as he enveloped Don in a brotherly hug.

Finally releasing his brother, Don said, "I thought you were dead! When the police couldn't find you…"

It was clear that he was barely hanging on to his emotions.

"I know. I was kidnapped, by the people who had…shot dad." Charlie said.

"After all this time…how did you escape?" Don asked.

Hanging his head, Charlie whispered, "I didn't."

Slowly Charlie sank in to one of the chairs, and Don could tell by that move that Charlie was deeply troubled over something, so Don pulled up another chair and sank in to it, never taking his eyes off of his brother.

"They…they nearly shot me, but Jon and Michael convinced Sandy not to do it. They took me away…out of state, to Colorado, Kansas and then Oklahoma. They told me that if I tried to escape or even look at them wrong, they'd kill me. So I stayed. I didn't try to escape, and pretty soon I became comfortable with them. I even…liked it.

"When…when I turned 16, they started training me on computers. Hacking and such. Since I was already great with math, it didn't take me long to pick up the finer points on hacking. Then they asked me to join their group…and I said yes." Charlie said.

Nodding his head, Don placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder, seeing how hard it was for Charlie to even tell the story, and from the look on his baby brother's face, the story was about to get worse.

"Then came the day that I'll never forget." Charlie whispered.

"What happened?" Don asked softly, practically begging his brother to tell him.

"I…I…" Charlie opened his mouth and closed it again before he hung his head and whispered, "I killed a man and his son, before I hacked a series of banks and transferred 90 million dollars to an off-shore account."

Hearing that, Don's face paled and he removed his hand from Charlie's shoulder.

"I..I…didn't know what I was thinking! I didn't mean to kill them I was just so…so angry at you, and not wanting Sandy to punish me!" Charlie said, looking up at Don, begging to be believed.

"Angry at me?" Don asked after a second, fearing the worst.

Charlie nodded his head before he replied, "I was still mad at you for everything you said and did to me when we were younger, though I did a good job of hiding it."

Don was silent a moment before he raised his eyes to look at his brother.

"Go on." He said softly.

"Anyway, with a quarter of that money, I made my way through college. CalSci, actually, and the rest you know if you looked at my files." Charlie said.

Sitting back against the chair, Don sighed before he muttered, "How did it ever come to this?"

"I guess you'll want me to give up the location of my friends…and then you'll arrest me…huh." Charlie said, ignoring Don's question.

Don looked back at Charlie, seeing the sad, but resigned look in his eyes.

"I can't just let you go Charlie. Not after what you've just told me. If what you say is true, you'll be lucky not to get life in prison, or the death penalty. But, as you say, if you give up your friends, I'll do what I can for you. Of that, you have my word." Don said.

Charlie sighed but nodded his head.

"Could you do me a favor though. Could you tell my friends, Dr. Larry Fleinhardt and Amita Ramanujan…could you tell them not to worry about what's going on?"

"What…you told them?" Don asked, having a gut feeling that Charlie had indeed told them some, if not all about his past.

Charlie nodded his head.

"I told them both everything, which is why Larry has taken it upon himself to call me Charles Edward Eppes 99 percent of the time."

"And how'd they take it?" Don asked.

"They were shocked. Who wouldn't be? But they got past that and tried to help me overcome my guilt over the matter." Charlie replied.

"Something like that…its hard not to continue to blame yourself…even after all this time." Don said.

Charlie nodded slightly at that before he cleared his throat and said, "I would also appreciate it if you would not tell mom or dad that you've seen me, much less arrested me, ok?"

"It's a deal." Don said, while he inwardly thought, _'Charlie…momma's dead.'_

Don knew that Charlie didn't know that little fact, but with everything that had happened to Charlie, Don just didn't have the heart to tell his baby brother the truth about their mother.

Maybe later, if Charlie wanted to know how his parents were.

Reaching in to his pocket, Don removed a small notebook and a pen.

"Now, are you ready to tell me where your friends are?" He asked.

Charlie nodded and told Don everything.

Meanwhile, Sandy who had heard that a certain math professor had been called to the FBI headquarters, decided to go see if it was Charlie.

Showing her fake ID to the security guard, Sandy entered the gated off area and looked towards the bull pen where she saw Charlie sitting in a chair, and a cute, yet very serious, very dangerous FBI agent, writing down everything that Charlie was saying.

It didn't take a genius for Sandy to guess that Charlie was spilling the beans about her little operation.

Snarling a little, Sandy whirled and left the FBI headquarters, but not before silently vowing revenge on her young pupil.


	6. Plans within Plans

**What's Important in Life**

Chapter 6: Plans within Plans

Sandy burst through the door of the home that she had purchased in Mexico.

Her faithful friends, Michael and Jon both looked up in surprise as she came walking towards them, murder apparent in her eyes.

"I can tell by your expression that things didn't go well." Michael said.

"Ya think? That little rat squealed on us! He told the FBI everything! After everything I have done for that boy…!" Sandy nearly yelled in rage.

"Well…we did shoot his father…" Jon pointed out, but that earned him nothing more than Sandy pointing her loaded gun at him.

"Yeah, but before he left for college, didn't we prove to him that his father wasn't dead? You remember that horror?!" Sandy replied.

"Yeah. He just took the photos, looked at them for several seconds before he wordlessly placed them in his pocket and got on the plane." Michael pointed out.

"Exactly! See! We try to make amends for what we have done to him in the past, and then he pulls this stunt?!" Sandy yelled.

"And don't forget the whole nightmare with the NSA." Michael said.

"Oh jeez, don't even bring _that_ up. Do you know how much it cost us to change Charlie's background so even the dang blasted NSA would believe its real?" Sandy asked.

Both Michael and Jon shook their heads, so Sandy said, "A lot!"

Gripping her gun tightly, Sandy muttered, "I warned him a long time ago not to mess with us, well now his day of reckoning has finally come."

"He'll be hard to reach, because he'll be in prison." Jon said standing and placing pistol in his pocket, before he reached out for his Uzi.

"We've gotten in to prisons before, and escaped. This will be no different." Sandy replied, reaching over and grabbing Charlie's Uzi…the one he had left behind.

Looking it up and down, Sandy thought to herself, _'I'm going to kill him with his own gun.'_

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

"So…let me get this straight, Don. That math professor that was just hauled out of there was your brother?" David asked, before he glanced back at Terry Lake, and then back to Don.

"That's right." Don replied.

"And you believe him?" David shot back.

"Guys, look. When I first saw him, I thought he was a ghost; an image of my brother. But I shook that off, telling myself that it was impossible. And then he comes around and tells me that he _is_ my brother…well…everything just seemed to fit in to place.

"Either way, I'll have a doctor take a blood sample from Charlie and see if he can match it to the sample they have on file from when he…" Don paused, not wanting to bring up Charlie's childhood, "from when he was five."

"And what exactly did Charlie tell you, Don? It obviously scared you." Terry said, stating the obvious, because her boss was still slightly pale.

"He told me a lot of things that I wasn't prepared to hear. One thing was that he told me he had taken the life of a father and a little boy. Remember the news report thirteen years ago, about the robbery in the hardware store?" Don asked.

Terry thought about it, and nodded her head. "The one with the two casualties."

"Right…" Don paused before he looked down.

"It was Charlie." David pieced together, eliciting a nod from Don.

"He was scared, not knowing what to do, because he had never been in that situation before. He told me he felt numb, like _he_ wasn't in control over what he was saying. Then he found himself pulling the trigger. The father went down, yet the boy still clung to him. Then Charlie found himself pulling the trigger again…and then the boy stopped crying." Don said.

"Oh my God." Terry muttered as she looked down.

"It gets worse." Don said, causing Terry to raise her head.

"After that, he hacked in to seven different banks and transferred about a forth, to a half of the bank's total amount, to an offshore account. Then, using just a small amount of that money, he went to college at CalSci."

"This is even worse than that rapist case." David muttered after a minute.

"Yeah, well I'm not on that case anymore." Don replied, remembering his little 'chat' with the director.

"So, what do you plan on doing?" Terry asked.

"I plan on helping Charlie, anyway I can. But first, since he provided me with the location of his friends, I plan on bringing each and every one of them in. But that's not going to be easy since we'll be dealing with the Mexican government." Don said.

"Right. We just can't go waltzing in to Mexico and arrest someone without a _real_ good reason." Terry said.

"But if this story is true, and it's not reason enough, then I don't know what is." David said.

"Right. David, you work on getting the arrest warrants. Terry and I will talk with the Mexican government." Don said, getting nods from both David and Terry.

Standing up, David left the bull-pen, where they had been chatting, and went to work, procuring the warrants, while Don and Terry decided to go to the consulate that was just a twenty miles away.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

Charlie lay on the uncomfortable cot in a cell by himself.

He was surprised that he had been placed by himself, but if Don had nailed him on all of the charges, then it shouldn't have been all that surprising.

His court date was set for two weeks from that day, and Charlie already knew that he would plead guilty; even though that it was quite possible he would never see the sunlight again.

As he lay there, he began to think of what would happen to him if Sandy and the others found out that he had turned them in, and the results he came up with, weren't pretty.

He remembered them boasting about how they had got in to prison's, killed prisoners or guards, and then got out again undetected.

That knowledge made Charlie shiver in fear.

'_I guess that I can only hope that they never find out what I have done.'_ He thought to himself.

Yet there was a small piece of doubt in his mind. Doubt that even if Don did everything he could to protect his brother, that the gang would still be able to reach Charlie and kill him.

Shaking with fright, Charlie closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.


	7. A Shot in the Dark

**What's Important in Life**

Chapter Seven: A Shot in the Dark

"Got em Don." David said victoriously as he held up three arrest warrants.

"Good job. The Mexican government, miraculously has given us permission to go in and get them, but they'll have people watchin' our every move." Don replied with a shake of his head.

"Well, as long as they let us go in…" Terry reminded.

"Right. Let's get the team together. I want to nab them before they have a chance to run." Don said.

"Already on it Don. Teams 2 and 3 are waiting for us in the underground parking lot." David said.

Don looked at David curiously for a second, before he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well then, let's go." Don said, leading the way towards the elevators.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

Night had fallen at the penitentiary, and everyone was in their respected cells, asleep. All except for Charlie, who wasn't able to sleep a wink.

The feeling of doom and dread weighed heavily upon him, so much so that he couldn't calm down.

He was sure that his heart rate and BP were through the roof, but it wasn't like he could just tell one of the guards. They'd probably beat him senseless just for talking to them.

Closing his eyes, Charlie tried to remember what his mother had said.

What was it? Something about thinking about something he enjoyed would help calm him down?

Oh well, that was close to what she said, so Charlie let out a deep breath and let himself focus on math, and like a bursting dam, equation after equation hit him, causing him to jerk slightly.

Some of the equations were from Don's rapist case, others were from school, and yet others were from his days as a hacker.

"No." Charlie murmured, opening his eyes, allowing the equations to fade.

Taking another deep breath, Charlie closed his eyes again and tried once more.

This time only the school equations flooded his mind, so Charlie concentrated on them, and soon he was lost in his own world; his own little bubble, and nothing would be able to snap him out of it for awhile.

Which was how Sandy, Jon and Michael found him, laying on his bunk, eyes closed, breathing even.

For them, breaking in was easy.

All they had had to do was knock out a few guards and stick to the shadows. The isotope that they had each taken, masked their signatures so they were undetectable until the isotope wore off.

"You have no idea how much we sacrificed, do you? You little tramp! We gave you a new, exciting life, and you threw it back in our face!" Sandy said, pointing Charlie's pistol at the still unmoving form.

She knew that once she pulled the trigger, the alarms would sound, which would give her and her friends precious seconds to get away.

Glancing over, she saw Jon looking at his watch before he glanced up at her.

"Ten seconds." He whispered.

Nodding, Sandy turned back to look at her young pupil with hate in her eyes.

As she waited, mentally counting down, her mind went back to the time when they were on the 'borrowed' plane, heading back to the States.

They had figured out, with Charlie's old equations, the exact time for a take down from an FBI team, so they were timing their strike on Charlie, with Don's little strike on them.

The exact time Don would come bursting through the doors of their home in Mexico, would be the exact time that Sandy would pull the trigger, ending Charlie's life.

'_Five…four…three…two…one…'_

One single shot rang out in the darkness, seconds before the alarms sounded.

The lights in the Cell Block brightened as ten guards came running up, weapons drawn.

They quickly looked through each and every cell, not finding anything…until they came to Charlie's cell.

Looking in, they found the math professor, laying unmoving on his bed, blood pooling around the chest, quickly soaking in to the thin mattress.

Grabbing his walkie-talkie, one of the guards yelled, "I need a medic here! Cell Block B!"

When his request was acknowledged, the guard turned back to his men, who had swept the entire Cell Block.

"Nothing sir. Whoever shot him is long gone." Another guard said.

"Sweep the area, then! I want whoever shot this man found!" The first guard ordered.

Nodding their heads, the guards all ran off, going to fulfill their orders, while the first guard remained with Charlie, watching him bleed out as he waited for the doctor to arrive.


	8. Bedside Vigil

**What's Important in Life**

Chapter 8: Bedside Vigil

"Clear! There's no one here, Don. But it looks like they got out of here in a hurry." David said, approaching Don, while he holstered his weapon.

"Damn!" Don said, smashing his fist down on the table as he took his earpiece out of his ear, and holstered his own weapon.

"How could we miss them?"

"Someone must have gotten word to them that we were coming." Terry said, approaching them from what had been the conference room of the house.

"Either that or they had someone on the inside." Don suggested.

"You mean that its possible someone was there when we found out." Terry said.

"Right. They would have had plenty of time to round up the rest and get out before we were even mobilized." Don replied.

"But we still don't know where they went." David put in.

Sighing, Don put his hands on his hips for a second as his eyes roamed around the room, looking for any possible clues.

Seeing a whole bunch of papers stacked on a table in the corner, Don went over to them and picked up the paper on top.

It was filled with equations, and Don knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was something that Charlie had written.

Walking over towards her boss, Terry glanced down at the paper Don's hand, before she looked up and gazed at Don's face.

"No witnesses." Don muttered, as if he was in a trance.

"What?" Terry asked, confused by what Don had said.

Don blinked and then glanced over at David and Terry.

"I know where they went! They went after my brother!"

Leaving David and Terry just standing there, Don ran out of the house, heading for the black SUV.

Quickly he jumped in and fired it up, and was just about to gun it when the passenger and back door opened to allow Terry to jump in to the passenger seat, and David to jump in to the back seat.

After the doors were closed, Don gunned the vehicle and roared away, heading for the airstrip where a plane awaited to take them back to the States.

As Don drove like a maniac, Terry glanced over at Don and asked, "Why do you think they went after your brother?"

"Because of what Charlie said. They leave no witnesses."

"But Don…they leave witnesses at the robberies." David interjected.

Don glanced up at the rearview mirror for a second before he focused on the road.

"Yes, but they were wearing ski masks. Charlie is the only one who could actually ID them."

"Which puts him as the top person on their hit list." Terry said.

"Exactly!" Don replied.

Because of Don's driving, they arrived at the airstrip within 30 minutes.

Killing the engine, Don jumped out of the SUV and ran towards the plane, with Terry and David in hot pursuit.

As he neared the plane, Don heard his ringtone, Toto's "Take My Hand" go off. Instantly, Don grabbed his cell-phone, flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"Eppes." He said.

He listened to the speaker for just five seconds before he went pale and the hand that held the phone to his ear started to shake slightly.

"Yes I'll…be there as soon as I can." Don replied, before he hung up and put his phone back in his jacket pocket.

"Don, what's wrong?" Terry asked, seeing the look on Don's face.

"Charlie's been shot! He's in the ICU at Orange County hospital." Don replied as he stepped on to the plane, followed by his friends.

As he sat down in the seat and put the seatbelt on, Don also muttered, "He's in a coma."

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

"Dammit Charlie! Get your fuckin' muddy shoes off of my bed!"

"Donald Eppes! You come in here RIGHT NOW!"

Recognizing his mother's voice, Charlie opened his eyes and sat up.

Sure enough he was on Don's bed, and sure enough he did have muddy shoes, which were on Don's bed.

Looking around, Charlie realized that he was in Don's room, at the house.

But that was impossible because the last thing he remembered was being in a cell and hearing someone fire a gun.

'_That must be why everything seems so bright.'_ He thought as he slid down off the bed and approached the mirror.

Gazing at his reflection, Charlie saw that he looking like a 7 year old, before his reflection changed and he found himself looking like he was close to 30 years old.

"So this must be what it's like to be dead." Charlie muttered to himself as he left Don's room, "Having to relive your worst year as a child."

Slowly, almost ghostly, Charlie walked downstairs and looked in to the living room, where Don was laid out across his father's lap.

Alan was whacking his eldest son as hard as he could with a rolled up, duct tape covered newspaper.

After 15 spanks, Alan let his eldest son stand.

As Charlie looked at Don's face, he could see a few tears streaking down his face, but Don just wiped them off and gently walked past Charlie, with a whispered, "Sorry."

Charlie watched as Don climbed the stairs and went to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

With that, Charlie glanced at his parents, who were looking back at him, so Charlie did the only thing he could do.

He headed for the garage, which was the only place he could go to.

Entering the garage, Charlie got on to all fours and crawled through the mountain of junk that the Eppes family had accumulated over the years.

He was heading for his 'cave', which was located in the middle of the mountain of junk.

His 'cave', was nothing more than some boxes, chairs and a few of his father's old tarps, placed in strategic places, so that it formed a sort of cave, big enough for Charlie to enter and hide, and because it was in the middle of the garage, Charlie was the only one who had access to it.

Crawling in to the cave, Charlie sat down on the old blanket that he had placed over the cold stone floor.

Almost immediately he put a hand to his head and rubbed it as a small headache came over him, and voices sounded.

"_His heart rate is falling!"_

"_We need a crash cart in here!"_

Then the voices and the headache faded, leaving Charlie shivering on the floor.

Knowing that his real brother was out there somewhere, trying to find and get to him, kept Charlie grounded to the fact that the place where he was now was not the real world, but it was just a fantasy that his mind had created.

"Don…I want to leave this place…I don't like it here." Charlie whispered.

He knew that Don would never answer him, and that it would be a long shot if Don could even help him out of his state, but he still did have hope and faith, that somehow, his brother would be able to help him come back.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

When the plane had landed, Don had gotten off just as soon as the door was opened.

He headed straight for the waiting SUV, grateful that David had remembered to call ahead and request that one be waiting for them at the airfield.

Once everyone was in the vehicle, Don found the keys, put them in the ignition and fired up the SUV, then he burned rubber as he headed for the hospital.

Lucky for him, there were no traffic cops out, so Don had smooth sailing all the way to the hospital.

Once there, Don found a place to park, before he jumped out and ran towards the hospital entrance, leaving the motor on the SUV running.

Reaching over, Terry killed the engine before removing the keys and sticking them in her pocket, as she followed David in to the hospital.

As they entered, Don was already coming towards them, a look of concern on his face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Terry asked her boss, but Don just walked past her and David as he entered the ICU.

A doctor who was just heading out of the ICU tried to stop Don, but Don wordlessly showed the doctor his FBI badge, before he continued on.

Going to the room that the doctor had said to go to, Don entered and approached the figure in the bed.

Sure enough, there was Charlie. He was hooked up to a vent, and had tubes going everywhere.

Feeling tears coming to his eyes, Don pulled up a chair and sat down to begin his bedside vigil.

Glancing over at his brother again, Don whispered, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry Charlie."

Reaching over he took Charlie's hand and held it.

Even if Charlie couldn't feel it, Don did, and it helped him calm his nerves, just to have physical contact with his brother.

"You're going to be alright buddy. You can pull through this. All I need for you to do is open your eyes." Don said softly, glancing at his brother's face, which remained still.

Swallowing, Don sat back in the chair, never releasing his brother's hand, and never taking his eyes off of his brother's still form.


	9. Bargaining

**What's Important in Life**

Chapter 9: Bargaining

Opening his eyes, Charlie found that he was still in the cave, but that instead of it being really dark, or semi dark as it had been when he had fallen asleep, it was now almost as bright as day.

'_So this is it. I'm gonna die.'_ Charlie thought to himself as he looked up towards the light.

Because it was so bright, it caused tears to streak down his face.

However, something happened then that caused Charlie to sit up straight and listen.

'_You're going to be alright buddy. You can pull through this. All I need for you to do is open your eyes.'_

"Don…" Charlie whispered, before he looked up at the white light and shouted, "DON!"

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

The light faded away and slowly Charlie opened his eyes.

He found himself in a dimly lit room with bunches of tubes snaking every which way across his body.

As feeling came back to him, he felt someone holding his hand.

Looking over, Charlie saw Don holding his hand, but Don's head was lowered and his eyes were closed, almost as if he were praying.

Slowly Charlie squeezed Don's hand, causing Don to jump and raise his head up.

"Charlie?" Don whispered, looking at Charlie closely, before a smile came over his face.

Quickly Don scooted closer to his brother and gazed at him kindly.

"I'm so glad that you are awake buddy." Don whispered.

Glancing in to his eyes, Charlie could tell that Don had been crying, and at that moment, when he had spoke, Don had sounded like a scared five year old than the seasoned FBI agent that he was.

Because Charlie was still on the vent, he couldn't talk, so all he could do was squeeze Don's hand again.

Before Don could say another word, the door to Charlie's room opened and David entered.

"Don," He said softly, "I don't know if you want to hear this but…we found them. The people who shot your brother."

"I'll be back soon." Don whispered to Charlie before he let go of Charlie's hand, stood up and left the room.

Charlie wanted to call out to him; to beg him to stay, but the tube in his throat made that impossible, so Charlie was forced to watch Don's retreating back going through the door.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

"Are you sure its them?" Don asked as he climbed in to the SUV's passenger seat.

David, again got in to the back, and Terry was already in the driver's seat.

"Positive. They match the description Charlie gave you, to a T. They are holed up in a convenience store. Store owner who ID'd them is currently being held hostage." Terry said as she put the SUV into gear and pulled out on to the busy street.

As they got closer and closer to the convenience store, a plan began to formulate in Don's mind, about how to get Charlie a reduced sentence, or if all went well, of the hook completely!

Reaching down, Don grasped his gun and took it out; making sure that it was fully loaded.

Looking back up, he watched as Terry turned the corner and pulled to a stop just inside the store's parking lot.

Getting out, Don, remembering to stay down, approached the officer in charge.

"Don Eppes, FBI. What do you have?" Don asked.

"Three known suspects. All fully armed with what appear to be Uzi's. They have taken the store owner and at least four people hostage. The suspect's match the description given to us by your department, Eppes." The officer said.

"Alright. Is there anyway to get inside the building without being seen?" Don asked.

"Yeah, there's an old pipe shaft that runs under the building. It comes up through that manhole in the street." The officer said.

Nodding his head, Don chewed the gum that he had recently placed in his mouth as he thought about how to do this.

Reaching a decision, he turned back to his people.

"Alright, I'm going in there alone. When I give the signal, I want you to move in, and move in fast." Don said.

Receiving nods from Terry and David, Don turned back to the officer.

"Have one of your men pull that manhole cover up. I'm goin' in." He said.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

The inside of the small tunnel was damp and musty, and Don could almost swear that he felt rats running across his hands as he crawled along. Finally after five minutes, he was relieved to see the small door that led in to the convenience store's back storeroom.

Putting an ear to the door, Don listened for a moment before quietly opening the door and slipping in to the building.

Turning, Don shut the door behind him before removing his gun and cocking it.

Staying low and in the shadows, Don crept to the open doorway and listened, before he peeked out.

And, even though he couldn't see them, he could hear the suspects talking.

"Man, how'd we get to be stuck in here? If we'd of followed the original plan, we wouldn't even be in the country by now!" Michael whined as he pressed his weapon once again in to the back of the store owner.

"Hey, I was hungry!" Jon whined as he glanced up and out the window to take in the growing amount of police officers outside.

"You're always hungry." Michael muttered.

Keeping quiet, Don backed up a little before he keyed in his walkie-talkie.

"David, Terry, I want you to get on the bull horn and try to open communications with them." Don whispered.

"You got it, Don." Terry replied.

Crawling back to the door, Don waited and listened as Terry's voice came over the bullhorn.

"You in there…this is the FBI!" Terry said.

"Yeah? So what else is new?" Jon shouted back.

"Release the hostages and we will try to give you and your friends as light a sentence as possible." Terry said.

While Terry was talking, Don slipped in to the main room of the store and inched forward till he was crouching behind Sandy, who held her gun at the ready.

Looking up at her, Don waited two seconds before he jumped up and knocked Sandy's weapon away before getting her in a headlock with one hand and holding his own weapon out with the other.

"Fed!" Jon said angrily as he hid behind a display of chips.

"Shoot him…shoot him!" Sandy muttered to her friends as her hands went up to Don's arm, which he only tightened further around her neck.

"It doesn't have to be this way. If you give yourselves up, I will see to it that you get no more than ten years in prison, rather than the death penalty." Don said, keeping his gun trained on the others.

"Just shove it copper! We ain't interested in your bargains!" Michael said.

"However, if you come forward now about the string of robberies and murders that you have done…not to mention kidnappings, then I will see that you will get a lighter sentence." Don said.

"We didn't kidnap anyone!" Michael yelled out.

"Really? What about my brother? You took him and caused him to shoot those innocent people in that hardware store." Don said.

"That's a lie! We didn't tell him to kill anyone!" Michael said.

"But you did teach him how to shoot and kill, and that's the same as pulling the trigger!" Don replied.

"So what do you want? You want us to take the blame for everything so your brother can get off the hook? That's impossible cuz that little bitch is dead!" Michael said.

That little remark caused Don's blood to boil, yet he held his tongue and replied, "He's not dead. You might have tried to kill him, but you failed."

Meanwhile, Jon was still crouching down behind the chips, thinking the situation through.

He didn't really want to help a federal agent, but he did want to come out of this whole thing alive, so he said, "If I decide to do this…will I have your word that you'll talk to the judge?"

"Jon! Don't you dare!" Michael shouted, glancing in the direction of his friend and partner.

"Yes." Don replied to Jon's question.

Slowly Jon put his gun down and rose up, hands in the air.

When that happened, two more things happened.

One, Michael also stood up and pointed his gun at Jon, while Don whirled and pointed his gun at Michael.

Then there was a second when nothing happened before the sound of a gun went off.

Everyone in the store looked at the shooters as a little bit of smoke came out of Don's gun, and Michael fell to the ground, unmoving.

Jon looked at Michael's body for a second before he got on his knees and put his hands over his head, as Terry, David and ten police officers swarmed in to the store and handcuffed Jon and Sandy.

While the police were escorting them out, Don holstered his weapon and turned to his colleagues.

"You alright, Don?" Terry asked, seeing that look on her boss's face.

"Yeah, I'm alright, and hopefully when everything is said and done, Charlie will be too." Don replied before he walked out of the store and headed for the SUV.


	10. What's Important in Life

**What's Important in Life**

Chapter 10: What's Important in Life

Arriving back at the hospital, Don headed straight for Charlie's room, with David and Terry hot on his heels.

Both of them were curious as to what Don had up his sleeve, because the eldest Eppes brother had told them nothing, other than it was possible for Charlie to walk away from his past experience unscathed, for the most part.

As they rounded the corner, they saw a doctor coming out of Charlie's room with a grim expression on his face.

Thinking that something was wrong, Don quickened his pace and stopped the doctor from walking away.

"What's wrong doc?" Don asked, the worry in his voice quite evident.

The doctor shook his head before he replied, "Nothing is wrong sir. Just the opposite in fact. I just removed your brother's vent, and he's holding up just fine."

Don sighed in relief as he let the doctor go, before he entered Charlie's room and approached the figure on the bed.

Opening up his eyes, Charlie looked up and over and saw Don coming towards him, with his friends and colleagues right behind him.

This sight made him smile as his eyes twinkled with unshed tears.

"Don…" Charlie whispered through a dry, scratchy throat.

"Hey buddy, how are you feelin'?" Don asked as he grabbed a cup and poured some water in to it.

Next he grabbed a straw and stuck that in the cup before heading over to his brother's bed.

Since Charlie was still weak from his whole ordeal, Don took the straw and held it close to his brother's face, while Charlie raised his head as much as he could and weakly drunk some of the water.

"Thanks…" Charlie whispered after he had drunk a little.

"No problem. I would have started with some ice chips but…" Don began, however Charlie softly replied, "Doc gave me some."

Wordlessly Don looked back at his friends, who, catching the look on his face, turned to go, but not before saying, "Get well soon," to Charlie.

When they were gone, Don turned back to face his brother.

"Charlie I…" Don began, "I am sorry for everything that has happened to you."

Because of his sore, raspy throat, Charlie didn't say anything, not that he could say anything anymore when he caught sight of the fact that Don was now openly crying, which, to Charlie was a miracle!

"Everything that happened…was my fault. I was so caught up in my life that…I never stopped to see how much I was destroying yours…until it was to late. Since that day, I have wished that I'd be able to see you again…so that I could apologize…and now you're here…" Don said.

Charlie could tell that Don was struggling to make his apology felt, so, biting back his aching throat, Charlie weakly shook his head and softly said, "I know that you're sorry. When I was in that store…and saw dad go down…all I thought about was you and dad. Wondering if dad were dead, and wondering if you were going to come to my rescue."

Charlie paused, swallowing a little, and drinking more from the cup when Don offered it, before he continued on, "But it's ok now. Neither of us can change the past, but with help and time we can move beyond that."

Don nodded his head, knowing that what Charlie had said was right and true.

"Charlie," He said softly, "Remember when I said that, to me what was important in life was being somewhere where you weren't?"

At that, Charlie nodded and waited for his brother to continue.

Keeping his gaze fixed on his brother, Don said, "I lied. To me, what's important in life is having you there in my life."

Hearing that, Charlie smiled as a few tears leaked down his face.

He reached up and wiped the tears away before giving Don a firm handshake.

"So," Charlie whispered, "When's my court date again?"

"In a few days, Charlie. But don't you worry about it. I have a feeling that everything's going to be alright." Don said, having that look in his eye again.

Charlie saw the look and wondered what Don had done, but he decided that he didn't want to know, so he just shut his eyes and fell back to sleep.


	11. And the Verdict Is

**What's Important in Life**

Chapter 11: And the Verdict Is…

Charlie sat uncomfortably in his chair inside the stuffy courtroom as he waited for the jurors to come back in from making their decision.

At the beginning of what Don referred to as a 'small trial', it appeared that they were just tearing Charlie's life apart, piece by piece, and accusing him of doing even the smallest little thing, then came the parts in his life that he wasn't proud of, and hearing the attorney for the state yell at him and point at him, causing the jurors to turn their hardened eyes at him, was to much for Charlie and he collapsed and had to be carried out of the courtroom twice.

Now was the last day of his trial and Charlie had a gut feeling that he was going to be given a hard sentence.

Even though Jon did testify, Charlie didn't believe that was going to be enough.

Looking over, Charlie saw the jurors filing back in, and softly bit his lower lip.

'_Here we go.'_ Charlie thought as they all rose up when the judge entered.

"Be seated." The judge ordered, after he himself was seated in his comfy chair.

When everyone else was seated, the bailiff approached a juror and took a piece of paper from him and walked over to the judge.

Giving the paper to the judge, the bailiff waited while the judge read the paper, before refolding it and handing it back.

Then the bailiff walked back to the juror and handed the paper back before he went back to his appointed position.

Then Charlie and his lawyer rose up and looked towards the juror as he stood up, opened the paper and looked out over his audience.

"Charles Edward Eppes. For your actions in dealing with the accused, Sandra Renton, Michael MacMillan and Jon Wood, this court finds you…not guilty." The juror read.

At that, Charlie let out a huge sigh and nearly fainted with relief when the implications hit him. When he looked up, he heard all of the clapping and saw the judge banging his gavel as he dismissed everyone.

'_What did Don do to get me off the hook like that?'_ Charlie wondered as he turned around and received a big hug from his brother and Amita and a handshake from Larry, Terry and David.

When Charlie's trial had started, he hadn't wanted Larry or Amita to be there, but now at the end, he was glad that they were, because he missed the both of them dearly.

Finally, when they all were done congratulating him, they left the courtroom and headed outside.

"So Charlie, what are you going to do now?" Amita asked as she walked right beside him.

"I'm going to go home." Charlie replied instantly as he looked at Amita for a second.

He was rip roaring ready to go home at that moment, because he hadn't seen his family for years, plus he just wanted to get away from the courthouse.

Smiling a little, Don climbed in to the driver's seat of his SUV and fired it up.

Looking back he saw Charlie and Amita still conversing, and saw that there was definitely something between those two when Amita smiled and Charlie blushed.

Chuckling a little, Don wiped the smile off of his face when Charlie opened the passenger door and climbed in to the SUV.

When Charlie had his seatbelt on, Don asked, "Ready?"

"Let's go." Charlie replied.

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

Charlie kept his eyes on the window as they passed different landmarks that he thought he'd never see again.

There was the old Post Office, and the skate park on Charlie's right and up ahead was the high school that he and Don had attended.

After driving two blocks past the high school, Don made a right on to a residential street and kept going straight for three blocks before he stopped at a stop sign and made a left.

Then he went straight past two houses before he slowed down and pulled in to the driveway.

Charlie didn't say a word as Don cut the engine. He just sat there, in awe that he was actually home.

He didn't even notice his father come out of the house, but Don did, which was why he exited the vehicle, leaving Charlie in the SUV.

"Donnie! You're home early!" Alan said, a little worried that his son was home and not a work.

Don knew that he hadn't told his father a thing about meeting Charlie, or about what Charlie had done.

"Dad I..uh…" Don paused before he looked back at the SUV, or more specifically, his brother.

Alan followed his gaze before he paled slightly, recognition settling in immediately.

"Charlie?" Alan said, very much in shock.

Hearing his name, Charlie leveled his gaze and looked out, seeing his father.

He had graying hair, and he had quite a few more wrinkles, but he was still his father none the less.

"Dad…" Charlie whispered, before he jumped out of the SUV and ran to his father as he yelled, "DAD!"

Both men threw their arms around each other and embraced each other for several minutes before Alan even dared to let his youngest son go.

"But…how…?" Alan began.

"It's a…long story dad." Charlie said, not really wanting to go through the tale.

Seeing the look on his youngest son's face, Alan decided to drop the question for now.

"What have you been up to?" He asked as he wrapped an arm around Charlie's shoulders and led him inside, with Don following.

"Um…I'm uh…math professor at CalSci." Charlie said.

Hearing that, Alan smiled, very proud and happy for his son.

Looking around the living room, Charlie asked, "Where's mom?"

Alan blinked several times before he looked at Don, who cringed slightly.

"You haven't told him?" Alan asked.

"I couldn't." Don said, starting to feel very uncomfortable.

"Told me what?" Charlie asked, getting very worried.

"Charlie." Alan said, holding his son tight, "Your mother died…a little less than a year ago."

At that, Charlie's happy, little world crumbled.

Slowly he sank on to the couch as the tears started to run down his face.

"How?" He managed to croak out.

"She was very sick with cancer…" Alan said, sitting down beside his son as Charlie buried his curly haired head in his father's shoulder.

"Momma….momma." Charlie whimpered, crying heavily.

Hearing Charlie sobbing for his mother, nearly sent Don over the edge, so to keep from crying himself, Don left the room and headed for the kitchen, where he grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge.

Popping off the top, Don took a swig before he wiped away the few tears that leaked from his eyes.

He never knew how much his mother's death had really affected him, until a little while ago.

Meanwhile, back in the living room, Alan rocked his youngest son, allowing Charlie to cry as much as he wanted.


	12. A Long Road Ahead

**What's Important in Life**

Chapter 12: A Long Road Ahead

Charlie stood staring down at his mother's grave, while Don and his father stayed back a few steps to give Charlie some privacy, yet be close enough if he needed them.

"I never thought I'd see him again." Alan said after a few minutes of silence.

"I know. Neither did I. I know mom would have loved to have seen him again." Don replied.

"She was the one that always kept Charlie grounded. Me…I just didn't understand him." Alan said.

"Yeah, I know the feeling." Don replied.

They both glanced over at Charlie who knelt down and ran his fingers over his mother's headstone, before he whispered something and stood up.

Turning he walked back to his family and stopped right in front of them.

"Are you alright, Charlie?" Don asked, putting an arm around his brother.

"No…no I'm not." Charlie replied softly, "But I will be."

Nodding his head, Don helped Charlie over to the car, while Alan stayed behind to talk to his wife.

Once in the car, Don looked over at his brother and saw that Charlie was struggling not to cry.

Don knew that Charlie's recovery was going to be a long, winding road, but he felt confident that with time Charlie would be able to get past this latest obstacle.

"Charlie…you know that if you ever want to talk…I'll be there for you." Don said.

Nodding his head, Charlie turned and looked out the window as he began to shut out the emotional pain that he was in.

He knew that he shouldn't be doing that; that it was actually healthy to let it out, but letting it out was something that he couldn't do. At least, not yet at any rate.

Swallowing, Charlie closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he thought about his math, which came easily to him, causing him to relax and sink in to its embrace.

Soon however, Charlie relaxed so much that he actually fell asleep.

When Don heard the snoring, he glanced over and saw his little brother, eyes closed.

Smiling a little Don glanced away again, knowing that his brother needed the rest.

Exiting the car, Don went back to his father, who was coming towards him.

"Charlie's asleep. I think the events of today wore him out." Don said.

"They would wear anyone out." Alan replied as he glanced back towards the car.

"Dad…" Don said, pausing for a second, "Do you think that there's anything that we can really do for Charlie?"

Before they had come over to the cemetery, Don had told Alan a little about the case and what Charlie had gone through, but he didn't tell the whole story. That would be up to Charlie.

"All we can really do is be there for him. Healing will take place on its own." Alan replied.

"I just… I just wish that none of this had happened." Don muttered.

"So do I. But it did. Now all we can do is try to move on and hope that it never happens again…to anyone." Alan said, receiving a nod from Don.

Together they headed back to the car and climbed in.

Once they were buckled, Alan fired up the car and began the journey home.

He knew that this journey would be the easy one, but Charlie's journey would be the hard one, filled with misery and disappointment, but he promised himself that Charlie wouldn't have to walk that road alone; he would be there ready to catch him if Charlie were to fall.

Glancing over at Don, Alan knew that he felt the same way.

But for the time being, they let Charlie sleep. The next day would begin soon enough, and so would the healing process…for all of them.

THE END

NUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RSNUMB3RS

A/N: Thanks for reading!

I know that this isn't the ending that you all were probably expecting, but it was the one that I came up with.

Again, thanks for sticking with this story!

My next story will be more IC, I promise!


End file.
